Native American, Pacific Northwest Coast, United States or Canada, Tlingit or Haida people, ca. late 19th to mid-20th century CE. A lovely piece of walrus ivory hand carved into a ritualistic smoking pipe in the form of 3 totemic animals The inhalation hole, is pierced into the tip of a bear's head, through his body, and into a raven at the opposite end with the receptacle bowl drilled into his body under his beak. Crouching on the bear's legs is a frog that once had a tongue (now absent) that protruded from the mouth to the bear's paws. The eyes of each animal and the wings are inlaid with shimmering nacre shells. Size: 4" L x 0.75" W (10.2 cm x 1.9 cm)

This is an ESA antique exempt piece of ivory and cannot be sold internationally or to anyone residing in the states of California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington. We guarantee that the piece was made prior to 1972.

Provenance: private Brevard, North Carolina, USA collection

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.

Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#171074

Loss to openwork section from bear head to the frog. This loss does not overly affect presentation- leaving a chipped area on bear paw and frog tongue. Rest of pipe is very good with some mineral deposits and natural striations. Residue inside receptacle bowl from use.